Shikara, which is set against the backdrop of the Kashmiri Pandit exodus from the Kashmir Valley in late 1989 and early 1990, in the wake of violent Islamist insurgency, has been released nationwide. The Vidhu Vinod Chopra directorial was caught in a controversy recently when a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed last week in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court against the film, demanding a stay on release and the deleting of certain scenes.
Now ever since the film has been released, several netizens have been trending #BoycottShikara apart from lashing out at the filmmaker for ‘undermining’ and ‘commercializing’ genocide. Interestingly, at a screening of Shikara: The Untold Story Of Kashmiri Pandits, a female from the Kashmiri Pandit community lashed out at the filmmaker alleging that he had commercialised the issue of Kashmiri Pandit exodus of the 1990s. "Ye aapka commercialism aapko mubarakh ho (Congratulations on your commercialism) As a Kashmiri Pandit, I disown your film, I disown it.” The filmmaker had tried to calm the situation and sated tat "truth has two faces", her went on to add, “Ab aapke liye Sequel two banaengey (Now I will make a sequel for you)," she said, as reported by a news agency.
Adding fuel to the fire, Kangana Ranaut's sister Rangoli Chandel shared her video on her social media account and captioned it as, "Himmat hai iss sherni ki issne Vidhu Chopra ki screening mein uske mooh pe thooka aur logon ne taliyaan bajaee.... yeh tamache ki goonj woh kabhi nahin bhoolega."
Himmat hai iss sherni ki issne Vidhu Chopra ki screening mein uske mooh pe thooka aur logon ne taliyaan bajaee.... yeh tamache ki goonj woh kabhi nahin bhoolega ...pic.twitter.com/dnntDaxF4n
— Rangoli Chandel (@Rangoli_A) February 7, 2020
Shikara: The Untold Story Of Kashmiri Pandits marks Vidhu Vinod Chopra's comeback to Bollywood as a director for the first time since his 2007 release, Eklavya. He introduces Aadil Khan and Sadia in the lead roles of the film.
(Source: Twitter/ANI)
